Bill filed to increase duty death benefits

Saturday

May 10, 2014 at 1:04 PM

By James Dwyer

This month’s edition of the legislative update will be focused on some of the successful legislation that has been passed by the House in recent weeks. Currently, the House is underway with its budget deliberations and I will be updating everyone on that process in our next edition. I’d like to focus this update on legislation regarding line of duty death benefits, anti-domestic violence measures, and advancing our Commonwealth’s services for those in the Autism spectrum.Death benefitsIn January 2013, I filed a bill that would increase the line of duty death benefit from $100,000 to $250,000. I also filed legislation that would have the same increase and also enhance pension benefits for families to make sure they were taken care of after the death of a loved one in the line of duty. The line of duty death benefit is a benefit paid out of by the Commonwealth to the families of first responders that perish in the line of duty. After tragic and near tragic events occurring in our local community, I was determined to modernize the benefit to make sure that it met the needs of the modern family, i.e., current or impending college expenses, mortgages, etc. after close to 20 years without an adjustment. Taking care of the families of our fallen heroes is the least we can do. While I had hoped for a more generous benefit, I am proud to say that the Legislature passed an increase of the line of duty death benefit from $100,000 to $150,000. We owe it to the families of our fallen heroes for their sacrifice; a sacrifice that was not only their lives in the line of duty, but the many other ways in which families sacrifice to make sure that their loved ones are able to keep us safe on a daily basis.Anti-domestic violenceSince beginning my time as a state representative, I have been active in supporting anti-domestic violence and sexual assault prevention efforts whether it has been sponsoring, co-sponsoring or testifying on legislation. One of the first bills I filed was to create stronger provisions in our criminal justice system to make sure the repeat domestic violence offenders were giving a minimum sentence due to obvious escalation in violence and disregard for others. While I don’t believe it is proper to let the emotions dictate our response to highly publicized incidences with a piece of legislation, I strongly believe that the foundation for new anti-domestic violence legislation was well apparent to many members of the Legislature before the news reports in the case of the murder of Jennifer Martel at the hands of Jared Remy.The new anti-domestic violence bill contained the following provisions:Creation of new criminal offenses and elevated penalties: First offense domestic assault and battery charge; and creates a separate and specific charge of strangulation and suffocationBoosting prevention efforts: Updating resources to help balance prevention and punishment; streamlining records it ensures key decision-makers have the most accurate information; and requiring judges to evaluate whether domestic violence was a factor to certain crimes.Protecting victims: Delays the issuance of bail for offenders to provide the victim with time for safety planning and authorizes the revocation bail in certain cases; increases victim confidentiality by prohibiting information regarding domestic violence complaints from being included in daily police logs which are public record; broadens court authorization to issue limited custody and support orders;Autism spectrum servicesIn so many areas, Massachusetts has been a leader including education and our veterans benefits. However, we are no emerging as a national leader in the area of helping those among us with developmental disabilities. Over the past six years, the Legislature has made strides particularly when it comes to children in the Autism spectrum. Last week, the House passed comprehensive autism legislation that will help foster independence for autistic individuals and provide their families with financial tools for long-term planning.The bill permanently establishes a state Autism Commission will be responsible for making recommendations and monitoring the implementation of policies to improve autism care in the Commonwealth. One important provision of the bill widely referred to as the ABLE program (Achieving a Better Life Experience), is designed to encourage and assist families with financial planning for individuals with disabilities the tax-advantaged savings accounts can be used to help plan for disability-related expenses, enabling parents of children with disabilities, as well as older individuals with disabilities, to pay for long- term costs. Eligible costs include expenses for education, medical and dental care, job training, housing, transportation, financial management, assistive technology, home improvements and other uses.The legislation also ensures that as the number of students with autism increases, school districts and teachers are able to provide effective education.Robo-callsMany of you may have recently received an automated phone call from the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) informing you of my support for Early Childhood Education. While I appreciate the support of SEIU, I must inform those who received calls that I did not seek nor did I approve of an automated phone call on my behalf. In previous legislative updates I have railed against the use of "robo-calls" and have supported legislation that would create a "do-not-call" registry for folks to prevent receiving these calls if they so wish. After the numerous special elections we have had to endure and the impending fall elections, I certainly understand the frustration with receiving this call and I wanted to let you know that I didn’t know that SEIU would be sending out an automated message.James J. Dwyer represents Woburn Wards 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and Reading Precincts 2, 3, 4, 5 in the Thirtieth Middlesex District

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.